Carfree inferiority complex?
#1
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Carfree inferiority complex?
I posted this on another thread, and it was suggested that I start a new thread. So here goes:
The car culture is so strong, and we've been exposed to it from birth. Is it possible that even people on this carfree forum have an unconscious inferiority complex about being carfree?
"And that's where the real issue lies, IMO. I wonder what it says about our underlying social assumptions when almost every person on a carfree forum apparently assumes that all young people must learn how to drive.
Are we assuming that driving is a basic required skill? Is driving more valued than not driving? Are people who drive somehow more learned than people who don't drive?"
Are we assuming that driving is a basic required skill? Is driving more valued than not driving? Are people who drive somehow more learned than people who don't drive?"
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Last edited by Roody; 10-17-11 at 11:22 AM. Reason: added link
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Driving a car is a skill that is very handy in our society. It gives you the option of using a car. I see nothing wrong with gaining that skill. If you feel it is morally wrong to use a car, then don't.
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Having a driver's license (Thus, learning to drive) opens options such as employment mobility; just like learning how to ride a bike opens the options to being able to live car free.
#4
born again cyclist
i think learning to drive a car is an important life skill. i choose not to own a car and i rarely use them, but when a situation arises that the most practical way to get somewhere is either using a car from my local car-share or renting one from hertz/enterprise/avis/etc, i'm glad that i possess the skill set to take advantage of those options.
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Well, there is a bit of an inferiority complex out there. Not that that's why I think it's useful to have a car, but I often have to explain to people that I'm carfree by choice not because I can't afford a car or am not allowed to drive. I could afford a car if I wanted one (and my wife does, but I've convinced her that it's cheaper to rent a zip car the one weekend every other month that we'd use it than it would be to even pay for insurance let alone the other ancillary costs and she's down with that as well as the environmental benefits).
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I agree with the posters above. Knowing how to use a computer isn't a requirement for life. Many people live their lives without ever having touched a computer. But knowing how to use a computer allows for otherwise unreachable opportunities.
Just by way of observation, I also wanted to respond to the comment:
I believe the opposite to be true. People on this forum (present company included) have an unconscious superiority complex about being carfree. I was talking with a mountain biking friend of mine about going car free. He drives his V-6 truck the 3-1/2 miles to work. Mid-conversation, I noticed I was making him feel uncomfortable talking about my bicycle commute. I even offered to go out of my way to meet him at his house and ride with him. I find most people on this carfree forum would do the same in order to help their friends adopt a carfree (or car-limited) lifestyle. I wouldn't describe those people as having an inferiority complex.
Just by way of observation, I also wanted to respond to the comment:
Is it possible that even people on this carfree forum have an unconscious inferiority complex about being carfree?
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I don't see any suggestion of an inferiority complex. Having a driver's license can be useful in a number of situations even for those who don't have any intention of owning a car of their own. I also think that many people who don't bicycle would still view it as a skill that is nice to have.
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The sense I got from the thread in question was of an overbearing paternalism.
Some teenager asks for advice and everybody is telling him to get a drivers licence in case he might need it for an emergency, a job, for ID etc.
My advice would be "stop bothering me, go and do whatever you want" which is what he'll do anyway.
Some teenager asks for advice and everybody is telling him to get a drivers licence in case he might need it for an emergency, a job, for ID etc.
My advice would be "stop bothering me, go and do whatever you want" which is what he'll do anyway.
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What's interesting to me is that every time this comes up, so many are quick to point out that they could own a car if they wanted to. They're so afraid that people are going to think they're poor! Who cares? There's nothing wrong with not having a lot of money.
#10
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Maybe I'm totally off-base on this. I certainly don't want to start another thread on whether young people should learn to drive.
But why does almost everybody on this forum think that knowing how to drive is so essential? Doesn't this reveal something about our own assumptions? If you say knowing how to drive is essential, then you're implying that there's something wrong with people who don't know how to drive.
It seems like some people here are sharing in the cultural belief that driving is a valuable activity--so valuable that everybody should learn how to do it.
Why don't we support Carfree Education in our high schools? Has nobody ever wondered why kids MUST learn to drive, but they have no formal opportunity to learn how to ride a bike, take a bus, carry a load, etc.?
It really seems like even people here have a hard time thinking outside the cage!
But why does almost everybody on this forum think that knowing how to drive is so essential? Doesn't this reveal something about our own assumptions? If you say knowing how to drive is essential, then you're implying that there's something wrong with people who don't know how to drive.
It seems like some people here are sharing in the cultural belief that driving is a valuable activity--so valuable that everybody should learn how to do it.
Why don't we support Carfree Education in our high schools? Has nobody ever wondered why kids MUST learn to drive, but they have no formal opportunity to learn how to ride a bike, take a bus, carry a load, etc.?
It really seems like even people here have a hard time thinking outside the cage!
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#11
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Yes, I think you might be right that this is another expression of a carfree inferiority complex. Another is assuming that they must have a driver's license in order to get a job. In reality, a few employers require a car or driver's license, but the vast majority do not.
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But why does almost everybody on this forum think that knowing how to drive is so essential? Doesn't this reveal something about our own assumptions? If you say knowing how to drive is essential, then you're implying that there's something wrong with people who don't know how to drive.
It seems like some people here are sharing in the cultural belief that driving is a valuable activity--so valuable that everybody should learn how to do it.
It seems like some people here are sharing in the cultural belief that driving is a valuable activity--so valuable that everybody should learn how to do it.
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There are many skills which are valuable if you live in our society - those include being able to drive, being able to perform CPR, knowing how to use a telephone, knowing how to open the cap on a bottle of aspirin, and being able to express a complete thought in 140 characters or less. If we go back in history just over 100 years, these skills would be unknown or rare, so it is clear that none of them are essential to survival, and indeed, it is very possible to live in today's society without any of these skills. Equally there are skills that once were vital, and now are rare: knowing which wild foods you can eat, knowing how to spin, weave and make your own clothes, knowing how to lead a horse as it plows a field. Although none of these skills, modern or ancient, are essential, I believe that the more of them you can master, the better off you are, I do not believe that failure to master any skill is a mark of inferiority, or a mark of superiority.
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In this society, there come opportunities that you may only be able to take advantage of if you drive.
Next weekend, I'll be teaching some classes at a remote location. It's too far for cycling. There are no trains, no buses, no planes, no sub-orbital flights and taxis would be exorbitant. So driving to the event is the most practical way to get there.
Teaching these classes have led me to getting a contract to write a book and to being paid to teach similar classes elsewhere. So it's not an opportunity to miss, and requires driving skills to achieve.
It's going to be a lot of work before most people can go car-free. A few of us can just peel away from the car for the most part. But to really integrate a car-free lifestyle we have to revamp our transportation, we have to remodel our neighborhoods and re-educate our neighbors. That's going to take a while.
Next weekend, I'll be teaching some classes at a remote location. It's too far for cycling. There are no trains, no buses, no planes, no sub-orbital flights and taxis would be exorbitant. So driving to the event is the most practical way to get there.
Teaching these classes have led me to getting a contract to write a book and to being paid to teach similar classes elsewhere. So it's not an opportunity to miss, and requires driving skills to achieve.
It's going to be a lot of work before most people can go car-free. A few of us can just peel away from the car for the most part. But to really integrate a car-free lifestyle we have to revamp our transportation, we have to remodel our neighborhoods and re-educate our neighbors. That's going to take a while.
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Maybe I'm totally off-base on this. I certainly don't want to start another thread on whether young people should learn to drive.
But why does almost everybody on this forum think that knowing how to drive is so essential? Doesn't this reveal something about our own assumptions? If you say knowing how to drive is essential, then you're implying that there's something wrong with people who don't know how to drive.
It seems like some people here are sharing in the cultural belief that driving is a valuable activity--so valuable that everybody should learn how to do it.
Why don't we support Carfree Education in our high schools? Has nobody ever wondered why kids MUST learn to drive, but they have no formal opportunity to learn how to ride a bike, take a bus, carry a load, etc.?
It really seems like even people here have a hard time thinking outside the cage!
But why does almost everybody on this forum think that knowing how to drive is so essential? Doesn't this reveal something about our own assumptions? If you say knowing how to drive is essential, then you're implying that there's something wrong with people who don't know how to drive.
It seems like some people here are sharing in the cultural belief that driving is a valuable activity--so valuable that everybody should learn how to do it.
Why don't we support Carfree Education in our high schools? Has nobody ever wondered why kids MUST learn to drive, but they have no formal opportunity to learn how to ride a bike, take a bus, carry a load, etc.?
It really seems like even people here have a hard time thinking outside the cage!
If a young person lives the car-free lifestyle, falls in with others that do also, marries and has children with another car-free person, they'll probably never need a license.
Most of the time, that won't happen, and some point in life we'll need to borrow or rent a car, but not until later in life.
#17
Senior Member
More Skills > Less Skills
More knowledge > Less Knowledge
More Options > Less Options
Since the price of gaining a DL in the US is very low it makes sense to get it, IMHO but I realize that this is not the case in every situation where a DL really has little value, such as in NYC. Also, a DL allows you to get an International DL which, if you are like me and travel a lot, has come in very handy several times.
More knowledge > Less Knowledge
More Options > Less Options
Since the price of gaining a DL in the US is very low it makes sense to get it, IMHO but I realize that this is not the case in every situation where a DL really has little value, such as in NYC. Also, a DL allows you to get an International DL which, if you are like me and travel a lot, has come in very handy several times.
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That all depends on circumstances. I drove a lot as a teen without a car. I happily took over a lot of chores like grocery shopping and going to do the laundry for the chance to drive. As a junior in High School, I would drive 30 miles a day or more before school and another 30 after school.
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#19
Sophomoric Member
Thread Starter
The real cage is inside your mind. If a person is raised with constant messages of how wonderful and essential the car is, It's going to be difficult for him/her to even recognize that the cage is there.
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#20
Sophomoric Member
Thread Starter
More Skills > Less Skills
More knowledge > Less Knowledge
More Options > Less Options
Since the price of gaining a DL in the US is very low it makes sense to get it, IMHO but I realize that this is not the case in every situation where a DL really has little value, such as in NYC. Also, a DL allows you to get an International DL which, if you are like me and travel a lot, has come in very handy several times.
More knowledge > Less Knowledge
More Options > Less Options
Since the price of gaining a DL in the US is very low it makes sense to get it, IMHO but I realize that this is not the case in every situation where a DL really has little value, such as in NYC. Also, a DL allows you to get an International DL which, if you are like me and travel a lot, has come in very handy several times.
But there isn't enough time or money to learn everything. High school students in particular are pressed for time and cash. They have to make hard choices about which knowledge and skills they should pursue.
So why is it that almost everybody on the forum thought that driving was one of the most important skills to acquire si early in life? Maybe, as many people said, it's because that's the way the world is, and everybody must learn to drive in order to survive or at least prosper.
I grant that in some cases this is true, but I think there's a lot more to it. I think another reason that people so firmly insist that driving is essential is that we have been raised to believe this. Since birth, we have been exposed to millions of messages that push driving. We're taken home from the hospital in a car, and driven almost everywhere we go through childhood. We're fed constant advertising about cars, and that's only the tip of the iceberg. Getting a DL is our first rite of passage, like baptism, spirit quest, or killing an animal used to be
With all this brainwashing and cultural baggage, is it maybe a little hard for us to give a young person the impartial advice that he's entitled to? Is it hard for us to see that we may from time to time experience a carfree inferiority complex without even realizing it?
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"Think Outside the Cage"
#21
Prefers Cicero
The sense I got from the thread in question was of an overbearing paternalism.
Some teenager [i]asks for advice [/B]and everybody is telling him to get a drivers licence in case he might need it for an emergency, a job, for ID etc.
My advice would be "stop bothering me, go and do whatever you want" which is what he'll do anyway.
Some teenager [i]asks for advice [/B]and everybody is telling him to get a drivers licence in case he might need it for an emergency, a job, for ID etc.
My advice would be "stop bothering me, go and do whatever you want" which is what he'll do anyway.
Last edited by cooker; 10-17-11 at 09:18 PM.
#22
Prefers Cicero
#23
Senior Member
I also want to know everything. I borrow 11 library books, even though there's only enough time to read two of them. I spent a couple extra years in college (and thousands of dollars) because I wanted to take every elective.
But there isn't enough time or money to learn everything. High school students in particular are pressed for time and cash. They have to make hard choices about which knowledge and skills they should pursue.
So why is it that almost everybody on the forum thought that driving was one of the most important skills to acquire si early in life? Maybe, as many people said, it's because that's the way the world is, and everybody must learn to drive in order to survive or at least prosper.
I grant that in some cases this is true, but I think there's a lot more to it. I think another reason that people so firmly insist that driving is essential is that we have been raised to believe this. Since birth, we have been exposed to millions of messages that push driving. We're taken home from the hospital in a car, and driven almost everywhere we go through childhood. We're fed constant advertising about cars, and that's only the tip of the iceberg. Getting a DL is our first rite of passage, like baptism, spirit quest, or killing an animal used to be
With all this brainwashing and cultural baggage, is it maybe a little hard for us to give a young person the impartial advice that he's entitled to? Is it hard for us to see that we may from time to time experience a carfree inferiority complex without even realizing it?
But there isn't enough time or money to learn everything. High school students in particular are pressed for time and cash. They have to make hard choices about which knowledge and skills they should pursue.
So why is it that almost everybody on the forum thought that driving was one of the most important skills to acquire si early in life? Maybe, as many people said, it's because that's the way the world is, and everybody must learn to drive in order to survive or at least prosper.
I grant that in some cases this is true, but I think there's a lot more to it. I think another reason that people so firmly insist that driving is essential is that we have been raised to believe this. Since birth, we have been exposed to millions of messages that push driving. We're taken home from the hospital in a car, and driven almost everywhere we go through childhood. We're fed constant advertising about cars, and that's only the tip of the iceberg. Getting a DL is our first rite of passage, like baptism, spirit quest, or killing an animal used to be
With all this brainwashing and cultural baggage, is it maybe a little hard for us to give a young person the impartial advice that he's entitled to? Is it hard for us to see that we may from time to time experience a carfree inferiority complex without even realizing it?
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We need to make a distinction here. Driving is NOT a necessity, despite how many may feel, but an addiction. I get that. Getting a lisence to drive, however, in modern society IS a necessity. Most employers who offer decent pay require having a lisence wether you drive or not. So get your lisence if you don't already have one, but skip the car. They're gross.
#25
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Thread Starter
We need to make a distinction here. Driving is NOT a necessity, despite how many may feel, but an addiction. I get that. Getting a lisence to drive, however, in modern society IS a necessity. Most employers who offer decent pay require having a lisence wether you drive or not. So get your lisence if you don't already have one, but skip the car. They're gross.
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